New Star has been around the traps

By Jesse Hogan

DIMI Mascarenhas is proud to have played international cricket, but he is a bit embarrassed to be replacing the Big Bash League's most dangerous bowler, Lasith Malinga, at the Melbourne Stars.

''I'm supposed to be the overseas player replacing Malinga. There's no one in the world who can replace Malinga, let alone someone who bowls at 110km/h,'' he said.

Dimi Mascarenhas hopes to play a key role in ending the Scorchers' dominant combination of Shaun Marsh and Herschelle Gibbs.

Photo: Getty Images

The all-rounder's medium-fast deliveries were nevertheless valuable last week as the Stars snatched victory against Sydney Thunder to qualify for Wednesday night's second semi-final in Perth.

Mascarenhas, 35, represented England 34 times in limited-overs matches and is still a key player for Hampshire in its domestic competition, yet in many respects he is much more Australian than English.

He grew up in Australia, attended the same school as Simon Katich, did not leave until his late teens, retains an Australian accent and spends the English winters in Australia - formerly in his home town of Perth but for the past three years in Melbourne, the home of his wife.

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Mascarenhas has been a regular at Victoria training during that time, despite having no formal affiliation to the Bushrangers, as he sought to maintain fitness ahead of his annual Indian Premier League stint. This season he began playing Premier Cricket for Prahran and also featured in the Stars' practice matches.

He said he knew the decision to elevate him to the squad once Malinga was out had been influenced by captain Shane Warne, a long-time friend and teammate.

''I've been very lucky. He came to Hampshire in 2000 and we've become really good mates since then. It was no surprise that it was him that got me in the IPL [for Rajasthan]. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have played but he wanted me in his side. He's always talked me up for the England set-up and even now I'm sure he's had a big influence in getting me to the Stars.''

Perth, which easily beat the Stars in last year's semi-final at the WACA Ground, has included Mike Hussey for fringe seamer Joe Mennie. The Stars have lost David Hussey, Clint Mckay and Glenn Maxwell to national ODI duty and have omitted spinner Clive Rose. They have been replaced by Warne, who has served his one-match suspension, Scott Henry, Alex Keath and Daniel Worrall.

Mascarenhas, who is accustomed to bowling in the powerplay overs for Hampshire, hopes to play a key role in ending the Scorchers' dominant combination of Shaun Marsh and Herschelle Gibbs, whose opening stands have produced a league-high 281 runs in seven matches.

Jesse Hogan has been a reporter at The Age since 2004, and has been part of its sports department since 2008. He is primarily focused on cricket and has covered a number of the Australian team's overseas tours, including the 2011 World Cup. He also reports on AFL and soccer.